Vending machine



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

B. S. FORD.

VENDING MACHINE.

Patented Feb. 19,1889.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(NoMddeL) E. S. FORD! VENDING MACHINE.

No. 398.245. Patented Feb. 19, 1889.

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UNITED ST TES ATENT prion.

EDIVARD S. FORD, OF HOXTON, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TOOSCAR UI-ILMAN, OF BAVARIA, GERMANY.

VENDING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 398,245, dated February19, 1889.

Application filed October 16, 1888- Serial No. 288,250. (No model.)

mechanism is freed or actuated, so as to de- 1 liver or release fordelivery an article or com modity 1n exchange for said coin; and itrelates more particularly to apparatus which comprise a goods carrier ordrum divided into compartments and rotated by means of a spring to anamount corresponding with one compartment when an escapement istemporarily freed through the action of the inserted coin. I

My invention provides an improved coinl slide so constructed that anycoin of less diameter than that prescribed-which is, for eX- ample, afive-cent piece-falls out before reaching the chute or guide forconducting the coin to the point where it is to act upon the releasingmechanism. It also provides a separator or divider in connection withthe drum, which, as the latter rotates, enters the goods-compartmentssuccessively and separates the outermost article therein from the otherarticle or other articles, so that the drum can be supplied with two ormore articles in each compartment and deliver them separately, whereasin apparatus of this de script-ion as heretofore constructed the wholecontents of a compartment, whether one artij cle or more, have beendelivered at once. This separator or divideris capable of adj ustment,so as to adapt the apparatus to articles edges that, while a coin of theprescribed size of different thickness.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of theapparatus. Fig. 2 is a similar View, but with the door, whichconstitutes the greater portion of the front, removed. Fig. 3 is atransverse section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1, looking to the left. Fig. iis'a section 011 the same line as Fig. 3, but looking to the right, andwith the drumspring and escapement removed. Fig. 5 is a section on line5 5, Fig. 4,, showing the coin-slide.

Fi s. 6 and 7 are res ectivel 1 a side view and a plan of adistance-piece used in adjusting the separator or divider.

dis the outer boX or case of the apparatus, which in the preferred formis rectangular, as shown.

1) is a door at the front of the box, secured thereto by hinges c c, andfitted at d with a lock of any ordinary construction.

In the preferred construction the central portion of the door is cutaway, the opening thus formed being backed up with a sheet of glass, 6,which is held at top and bottom by clips or holders ff. The goods in thedrumcompartments can thus be ceen'from the outside. The part of theglass which is in front of that part of the drum which extends from thecenter to the inner walls of the compartments is preferably silvered onthe inside, so as to give a neat appearance to the apparatus. In thedoor I) is the coin-slit h, which is just large enough to allow of theinsertion of the prescribed coin. This slit is inclined, as shown, tocorrespond with the sidewise incline of the coin-slide, hereinafterdescribed.

In the door. Z) is also the goods-outlet 1', with flanged shelf j, forarresting the article which falls from the drum, and which is conductedby the guideway, hereinafter described, to said outlet 1'.

in is the coin-slide. It is inclined toward the right hand, as shown, sothat the coin inserted through the slit h, which has the sameinclination, may enter the slide in an inclined position, as seen inFig. 5, in which Z represents the coin. The lower edge of the coin runsupon the ledge or flange m of the slide. In the side of the slide. iscut an opening, '21, of such width between its upper and lower will runalong the slide with its upper part leaning against the side of theslide above said opening 71, a coin of smaller diameter will notbesupported by the slide above said 9 opening, and will therefore fallsidewisewith its upper part entering the opening. In so doing it willrock over the lower margin or shoulder, a, of the opening, (which islower than the center of gravity of the smallest coin that maybeinserted in the apparatus,) whereby the lower part of the coin will bethrust to the left, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, and its loweredge will consequently slip off 5 over the edge of the ledge m, and thecoin will therefore fall down into the box 0 below without reaching thecoin-chute. The coin-slide It is inclined from front to back, as clearlyseen in Fig. 4, so as to cause the coin to run to the back end and enterthe coin-chute.

is the coin-chute, down which the coin (of the prescribed size) 011reaching the back end of the slide 7; falls, so as to strike and depressthe end of the lever q, after which the coin drops into the box 0. Theother end of lever q bears against one branch, r, of an anchor, theother arm, 0*, of which normally .takes into the teeth of the escapements. Theescapement is fixed on the arbor of the drum 2, on which is aspring, '11, wound up by rotating the drum.

It will be readily understood that each time the lever q is acted uponby a falling coin it will by pushing up the arm 1' temporarily re- 2 5lease the arm 7 from the escapement s, so that the drum will move roundthe distance allowed by one tooth of the escapement and be then againcaught and retained by the arm r. The drum 6 has at its periphery oradial compartments 7; 2., for containing the goods or articles to bedelivered. They are shown as containing cigarettes, three ineachcompartment. The drum moves within a fixed casing, to, at one partof which is an 5 opening, 00, above an inclined guideway, 1 leading tothe outlet 1', already described. Consequently as each compartment t"comes in turn to the opening a the contents, so far as they are notprevented by the separator or 40 divider,hereinafter described,will fallthrough the opening at, be conducted by the guideway y to the outlet i,and be presented on the flanged shelf j.

I will n ow (hrscril re the separator or divider,

5 which prevents the delivery of more than one article at a time from acompartment. flhis separator is composed of stationary fingers z, (ofwhich two are shown,but one will answer if sufiiciently broad,) whichproject at the proper height through the side partition of eachcompartment '0 as this comes round to he openingwr. The partitions areformed with openings A A, Fig. 3, so as to clear or pass the lingers. Aswill be seen on reference to Fig. :1, the height oi the fingers suchthat they come between the outermost article in the compartment and theother article or articles therein, and thereby hold up such otherarticle or articles until the compartment has passed the opening '1'.'lheret'ore only the outermost article falls through this opening and isdelivered.

In order to make the separator or divider adj'ustable, so as to adaptthe apparatus for delivering articles of different thickness such, forinstance, as cigars-only two of which can be placed in a compartmentcapable of holding three cigarettes, I adopt the following arrangement:I fix the lingers to or form them in a piece with a plate, B, which Isecure by a mill-headed screw, C, to the block y, in which the guidewayy is formed. Between the block y and the plate B is a spring, whichtends to push the plate away from the block, the plate pivoting on thepin D. For the smallest size of goods to be deliveredsay cigarettes-theplate B is screwed up to the full exam against the block. When, on theother hand, the apparatus is required to hold and deliver largerarticles-say cigars-the screw 0 is unscrewed, and the spring then pushesthe plate B outward, so that the fingers 2 rise. A distance-piece, E,(shown separately in Figs. 6 and 7 and in dots in Fig. 3,) is thenpushed through a guide, L, so as to enter between the plate B and block1 and the screw 0 is then screwed up so far as the piece E will allow.This has the effect, by slightly loweringthe fingers from the positionto which they had risen, of bringing them to the proper height forseparating the two cigars in each compartment as it comes round' Thepiece E is forked or slotted, as seen in Fig. 6, to allow the screw 0 topass through it. In order to prevent the spring a from be ingover-wound, I mount on a horizontal arbor a piece, F, having as manyteeth G (say three) asthe maximum number of articles that a compartmentof the drum is intended to hold. 0n the face of the piece F is apin orstud, H. Onthe drunrt is an arm, J, which, upon the completion of everyrevolution of the drum, comes against one of the teeth G and moves thepiece F round to the extent of one tooth. When at the end of threerevolutions of the drum the piece Elias been moved to the eX- te'nt or.three teBlLthe pin H comes against a stop and prevents further movementof the d 11in, and therefore any further winding o'f the spring a. Asthe drum rotates in reverse direction during the discharge of' the goodsfrom its compartments, the arm J acts on the piece F in the contrarydirection, and thereby puts it in position to allow of the spring ubeingagain wound up.

WVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an; automatic coin-freed or coin-actu Y atedi apparatus, acoin-slide comprising an in clined side against which the coin leans anda bottom ledge or flange upon which the edge of the coin runs, saidinclined side having an opening of such height that a coin of smallerdiameter than that of the prescribed coin will not be supported by theinclined side, but will fall into said opening, and of such width thatits lower side shall form a shoulder beneath the center of gravity ofthe coin, over which shoulder the coin on falling into the opening shallrock, so that its lower edge will be thrust off the ledge and the coinwill drop out on the side opposite to said opening, substarnti ally asset forth.

2. In an automatic coin-freed or coin-actuatcd apparatus .l'ordelivering goods in exchange for coin, the combination, with a goodscarrier or drum having radial goods-compartments around its peripheryand caused to retate to the extent of one compartment for each action ofthe apparatus, of a separator I and with the fixed casing 11, having anopen-- ing, 00, of the stationary fingers 2, arranged to enter theopenings A in the sides of the com- 20 partments, whereby the latter arecaused to clear or pass said lingers, substantially as set forth.

4-. The combination of the plate 1-3, having the fingers .2, with theadj listing-screw O and 2 distancepiece E, suhstamially as and for thepurpose set forth.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwosubscribing witnesses.

EDWARD S. FORD. l'Vitn esses:

JOHN C. MEWBURN, GEORGE 0. Bacon.

